Screening Ornamental Sunflowers in the Seedling Stage for Flowering Reaction to Photoperiod

摘要

Ornamental sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cultivars grown as cut flowers range in sensitivity to photoperiod with regard to flowering from facultative short day (SD) to facultative long day (LD), with others insensitive to daylength. SD sensitivity is a problem for production in tropical areas, or in early spring sowings when the daylength triggers early flowering, and leads to small flowers and production of unsightly axillary buds. In the current work, 59 cultivars of sunflower were exposed to either 12- or 16-hour photoperiod in seedling trays in a greenhouse for 3 weeks, and transplanted outside. At flowering, plant height, leaf number, and flower diameter were measured. The studies were conducted in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012 with two cultivars (Procut Lemon and Sunrich Orange) serving as controls in each trial. Of the 59 cultivars screened, 52% were found to be dayneutral, 44% were SD, and two (3%) had a LD reaction. Two standard cultivars grown in each season showed consistent reactions to the photoperiod treatments in each year. The seedling screen is useful to identify cultivars suited for production in early spring in a temperate environment.